Plastic and Porcelain
by silkplants
Summary: Arthur is a porcelain figurine who's life is dedicated to sitting on a shelf, whether he likes it or not. Alfred is an action figure who gives him a hard time about being fragile. But, the opportunity for Arthur to prove himself useful might arrive sooner than expected. Usuk. Toy Story au, sort of. It doesn't really follow the plot after the beginning.


Being a figurine wasn't so bad, but Arthur did hate being fragile. A shame he came with a body of milky white porcelain, with a hand painted face consisting of soft green eyes, rosy cheeks and red lips. His painter had messed up on the eyebrows, however, and had made them dreadfully thick. There was a glued wig of feathery yellow hair on his head, and he was dressed in a dainty blue suit. Arthur had a white bow at his neck, and ruffles on his coattails and sleeves. His figurine came with a lacy parasol as well, which he held over his matching figure, an equally delicate lady in a cream colored dress.

They were part of the 'timeless' Arthur and Alice collection. Each set came with one Arthur, and one Alice. They were dressed and designed for various situations. How unfortunate, Arthur thought, that he should be part of the Gentleman set, instead of the Pirate or Wizard variation. At least then he could be in a striking red coat with an eyepatch and hat, or flowing black robes that went to his ankles.

Generally, the Arthur and Alice collection were adored mostly by older women. These women found them charming, and would put them in a glass case or on a shelf to be admired. Which is why both Arthur and Alice were surprised when their box was taken off the shelf by a young man.

Arthur heard the man who'd selected them ask about the pirate set. The storekeeper shook his head. Arthur knew the store had been out of both the pirates and the wizards for nearly a week now. The man sighed and shook his head, looking at the box for a moment.

 _Please_ , he begged to whatever spirit might watch over toys and figurines. _Don't let him notice the eyebrows._ People usually put his box back once they noticed his little design flaw. But, perhaps there was someone listening, because the man set Arthur's box down on the checkout counter. He got his wallet, purchasing Arthur and his pair.

Once they were placed inside the plastic bag, Arthur looked over at Alice, who smiled at him. She seemed ecstatic. He smiled back at her, and took his pose once more, excited to stand on a shelf and be admired.

That was not what happened. Arthur and Alice glanced at each other as the man picked them up again, and took them out of the car. They looked up at the charming, two story brick house. The trim and shutters were white, and there was a stone path leading up to the door, which was also white. The man crossed the threshold, carrying the two figurines with him. There were decorations around the home. Things like streamers and balloons, and a banner which read "Happy Birthday, Peter!"

Now, Arthur found himself puzzled. This wasn't what he had been expecting. Of course, he'd never been purchased before, so maybe this was normal. Still, he'd expected some grey-haired lady to take them and put them in some sort of cabinet.

"Berwald! You're back, did you get it?" A bubbly voice asked, and Arthur fought the urge to look in it's direction. However, he didn't have to, as the owner of the voice took their box from the man- Berwald's- grasp. They were taken out of the bag, and the other man frowned. "Well, it isn't the pirate set..weren't there any there?"

Berwald shook his head. "Oh, well. That's okay, I'm sure he'll like it anyway!" Arthur and Alice's box was set on a coffee table, and they were both still as the other man got out..wrapping paper? It was decorated with balloons, as well as stars in all colors. The paper was cut, and wrapped around their box carefully.

—–

Army Alfred sat in Peter's bedroom, a walkie-talkie propped up in front of him. Alfred was a plastic action figure, part of a 'Mini Military' series. He was eight and a half inches tall, and the tallest of his brand. He was the only part of the series Peter owned, but the back of his box advertised the others. Air Force Amelia and Navy Noah, to name a few.

Still, since he didn't have the rest of his team, he'd taken to commanding the green toy soldiers instead. They were downstairs with the other walkie-talkie. The soldiers described Peter's presents as the boy unwrapped them.

"-looks like Peter's opening another gift, Tino just set it in front of him. It's short, but good sized, it's- false alarm. It's only a shirt."

Alfred listened intently, breathing a sigh. "Okay, great, just, " He whispered. "Any more of the Mini Military series?"

"Negative." The soldier on the other end replied. "He's opening another gift, it's a new package of markers. He seems happy. No toys yet- there's only one left."

Alfred drummed his fingers against the floor impatiently. "If I were him, I would have ripped the paper off those gifts like, forever ago..no toys, huh? I guess things are gonna stay pretty normal around here.." He sighed. "I was really lookin' forward to meeting Coastguard Cameron though."

"Don't lose help, this last present looks promising, he's tearing into it, he's excited, he knows what it is, he's- it's a toy! I repeat, a new toy! We can't read the box from here. He's setting it down." The voice on the other end grew quiet, and Alfred bit his lip in anticipation.

"It's a part of the Arthur and Alice series. There are two dolls. It's the Gentleman and Lady set."

Alfred exhaled with a groan. "Are you kidding?! They could have gotten him another Mini Military and they got him some _figurines?!_ I- well. Thanks. You can head back when the coast is clear." He put the walkie-talkie away, and climbed back into the toy chest where Peter had left him.

—–

Arthur had been nervous when he'd watched the young boy unwrap his box. He seemed excited, which surprised him a little, though his face had fallen for only a moment.

Peter grinned. "It's not the pirate set, but they're still really cool! The Alice is pretty!" Arthur watched as Peter's parents smiled a little. After the party, one of his fathers -Tino, he'd learned- brought Peter upstairs to the child's room. He lifted Arthur and Alice from their box, positioning them on top of a bookshelf.

"Now Peter," Arthur heard Tino say. "Make sure you're careful if you play with these, they're very fragile. You don't want them to break." Peter nodded, grinning from ear to ear, and Arthur was already developing a soft spot for him.

Tino left the room, shutting the door behind him. Peter turned to his new figurines, standing on his toes as he plucked Alice from the shelf. But not Arthur. Arthur's painted smile shrank a little as Peter stepped back, going to his toy chest and collecting a few figures and blocks. A tower was built from letter blocks, and Alice placed on the top. Peter then picked up a plush bear, and an Army Alfred by the looks of it.

Peter proceeded to play pretend, having the Army Alfred ride on the bear's back, 'rescuing' Alice from the tower. Arthur briefly wondered what it would be like to be down there, and be included. But, he decided that it was alright to watch for now.

—–

Arthur didn't get a chance to introduce himself until the next morning, when Peter had gone to school and his parents had left for their jobs. The room seemed to spring to life, toys climbing out of the toy chest, and coming out from under the bed. Arthur was careful as he lowered himself from the bookshelf. Alice was already on the ground, Peter had left her there.

Arthur's porcelain feet clinked against the floor, and he looked around. His lacy parasol in hand, he approached the group, waving a delicate hand. "Hello, then. I believe you're acquainted with Alice, my name is Arthur-" He began, some of the others turning to face him. The Army Alfred was nearest to him, and Arthur held out his hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you."

Alfred looked at him a moment, raising a brow. "Heh, look, dude, I'd shake your hand n' all, but I don't wanna break you or something. Don't want to get thrown out, right?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but drew his hand back anyways. "I truly doubt I am so fragile that a simple handshake would break me."

The action figure laughed then, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, you're a decoration. Nothing wrong with that, you're real high-quality and all, even with the eyebrows, but I'm the one made to last. I'm an Army Alfred, y'know." Alfred's chest puffed in pride. It was true, Alfred was dressed in a grey tank top, with camouflage pants tucked into boots. his forearms and lower legs were connected by joints, making him quite a bit more flexible than Arthur. Still, Arthur was determined, and brushed him off, attempting to greet some of the others.

Arthur realized rather quickly that Alfred was somewhat of a leader. Whenever he tried to introduce himself, he noticed that everyone turned to Alfred before saying anything. The only one who'd spoken to him was a French Fashion doll, who called himself Francis. He'd shown Arthur his belongings, which was a pink moped that didn't work and a mini closet full of clothes. After that, Arthur had to climb back up the bookshelf and take his place.

—–

After that first meeting, Arthur didn't often come down from his bookshelf. Alice had a much warmer welcome, as the others seemed to think that if Peter liked her, they could too. Thus, Arthur was almost always alone. Sometimes Francis would throw legos at him until he came down, but that was usually just to show off his things. Especially when he acquired a new outfit.

Army Alfred talked to him sometimes too, but that was..less than friendly. He liked to tease him, and that would have been fine, Arthur had thick skin. But, something about Alfred got to him, and Arthur couldn't take it for long before snapping and going back to his shelf. Alfred would just laugh, and smile as Arthur climbed back up.

So, Arthur found he'd rather occupy himself by reading. He was on a bookshelf, after all. The books weren't exactly hard or complex, but he could still get a good story out of them. When Arthur wasn't looking at the books, he was flipping through the toy manuals, for Tino left them on the top shelf.

They were simple little booklets, just made of papers that were stapled together. Most weren't very long, but they were interesting. There were even pages on how to fix toys, basic fixes at least, but he hadn't found anything about him or Alice. He probably didn't come with a book. He and Alice were just meant to be decorations, after all….

Well, not like he had to worry about being broken. He was never taken down from the shelf and it was rare that Arthur climbed down himself. He'd keep looking, though, for Alice's sake. She seemed to be Peter's choice lady in distress. The boy would, on occasion, take Arthur's parasol from him to give it to Alice. And Peter wasn't always the most careful. So Arthur would have to make sure he could help Alice if she were ever chipped. This in mind, he pored over the toy manuals, just in case.

—–

As it turned out, he didn't need to help Alice. But the information did come in handy.

Arthur watched from his shelf, his painted smile smaller, but genuine. Alice was beside him, and he was holding his parasol over her in their default pose. It was the weekend, and Peter had friends over. They were playing on the floor near his bed, holding the plush animals and the plastic figures. Peter had Alfred in one hand and Matthew, an O Canada figure, in the other. Matthew was almost always under the bed, sometimes with the plush bear, so it was a little surprising to see him out in the open.

He watched the kids until Tino called them downstairs, announcing that lunch was ready. Peter's group dropped the toys to the floor, and scrambled to their feet, running out the door. But, as the last boy went for the exit, he stepped on Alfred, and Alfred made a sickening crack. The boy turned, and looked down, biting his lip before shaking his head and going downstairs.

The toys came to life the second the door had closed, all rushing to the action figure with cries of "What happened?" and "Is Alfred broken? What if they throw him away?!" Even Alice rushed down, going to his side.

Alfred winced, and sat up, whispers and gasps around him as he looked himself over. Arthur watched with a plain expression until he noticed that Alfred's arm was disconnected at the joint. His plastic forearm lay limp on the ground, and Alfred gave a frown before murmuring a 'Damn..'.

It was then that the others crowded around him, blocking Arthur's view. "What will we do? What if they get rid of him? How will we get by without Alfred? What'll happen to him?!" were only a few of the distressed concerns that reached Arthur's ears.

Arthur frowned. "I can- I can fix him." He announced, but it seemed no one could hear him, or at least weren't paying attention. He sighed. Alfred was going to owe him for this.

He slowly climbed down from the bookshelf, making his way to the group and pushing his way through the small crowd. "Move, move, out of my way.." Arthur muttered, making his way to Alfred. The action figure was holding his forearm, and Arthur held out his hand. "Give."

Alfred frowned and narrowed his eyes. "What're you-"

"What, do you want to stay broken? Hand it over!" Arthur tapped his foot, impatient. Alfred reluctantly passed the arm to him, and the porcelain doll knelt down and examined the joint. He popped the arm back into place easily, and Alfred bent his arm a few times before blinking at Arthur.

"Where did you learn to do that..?" he asked, and Arthur gave a humorless laugh.

"When you practically live on a bookshelf, you pick up a few things." He answered, stepping away from the crowd, who now stared at him in silence. Arthur started walking towards the bookshelf, when he felt a hand grab him by the wrist.

"Wait." It was Alfred. He'd gotten to his feet. He smiled at Arthur, and enveloped him in a tight hug that lifted him off his feet. "Thanks. I mean. Thank you. Why did you help me?"

"Well, you may believe me to be bitter towards you, and I am. But I'm not so bitter that I'd risk you getting thrown away or something." Alfred laughed, and Arthur was a bit taken aback. However, he found himself smiling.

"Alright, now, let me go back to my shelf, can't have Peter finding us all like this." He was let go, and Arthur climbed back up to his spot, Alice following him. He took his pose, but not until after exchanging a gentle smile with Alfred, who waved and took his place.

—–

Arthur found that he got along surprisingly well with Alfred. He climbed down from his shelf more often. Alfred welcomed him, often walking around with an arm around the porcelain doll's shoulders. Arthur didn't complain. After mysteriously finding the two of them together quite often, Peter began taking him down from the shelf. It was nerve-wracking, but Peter was a little more careful than Arthur gave him credit for.

And when Peter opened up an Air Force Amelia at Christmastime, Alice was even more excited than Alfred.


End file.
